Clothes dryer

ABSTRACT

A clothes dryer comprising: a cabinet including a front panel on which an inlet is formed, a drum rotatably arranged in the cabinet and having a front opening and a rear opening, a front cover linking the inlet of the cabinet and the front opening of the drum, and including a slope portion having a diameter decreasing as being directed toward the inlet of the cabinet from the front opening of the drum, a rear cover connected to the rear opening of the drum and having an air inlet formed at the rear cover to allow air to be supplied toward the rear opening of the drum, and a sensing device arranged on the slope portion for sensing humidity in air discharged from the front opening of the drum.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C. §111(a), of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/009169, filed onJun. 28, 2022, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2021-0127790, filed on Sep. 28, 2021 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a clothes dryer, and more particularly, to aclothes dryer including a sensing device capable of sensing humidity ofclothes.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, dryers are devices capable of drying a wet object containedin a drum by rotating the drum while forcing hot and dry air to passthrough the interior of the drum. As a common example of the dryer,clothes dryers targeting wet clothes are often used.

The dryer may control a time for a dry course by detecting whether theobject is dried, and terminate the dry course when the drying iscompleted. Hence, a sensor may be required for sensing humidity of theobject.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a clothes dryerincludes a cabinet including a front panel having an inlet through whichobjects are placed, a drum rotatably arranged in the cabinet and havinga front opening and a rear opening, the drum configured to have air flowalong an interior of the drum from the rear opening to the frontopening; a front cover formed to link the inlet of the cabinet and thefront opening of the drum, the front cover including a slope portionformed to have a diameter decreasing the inlet of the cabinet from thefront opening of the drum, a rear cover formed to connect to the rearopening of the drum and having an air inlet formed at the rear cover toguide the air to flow toward the rear opening of the drum from anexterior of the drum, and a sensing device arranged on the slope portionfor sensing humidity in air discharged from the front opening of thedrum.

The clothes dryer may include a fan configured to move the air into thedrum, a heat exchanger arranged in the cabinet to cool the airdischarged from the front opening of the drum, and an air outlet formedin a lower portion of the front cover so that the air discharged fromthe front opening of the drum flows to the heat exchanger, and thesensing device may be arranged in an upper portion of the front cover.

The drum may be rotated counterclockwise while the drum is viewed fromfront to back of the drum, and the sensing device may be arranged tolean to a right side when the drum is viewed from front to back of thedrum.

The clothes dryer may further include a lighting device adjacent to beclose to the sensing device.

The clothes dryer may further include an electrode sensor coupled to alower portion of the slope portion to sense humidity of objects in theinterior of the drum, and a controller configured to determine anoperation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed bythe electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device.

The sensing device may include a sensor including a sensing surfacefacing inside of the slope portion; and a cover coupled to an inner wallof the slope portion to cover the sensor.

The cover may include a cover surface arranged on the inner wall of theslope portion, and a through hole penetrating the cover surface for thesensing surface to be exposed to the inside of the slope portion.

The sensing device may further include a filter arranged between thecover surface and the sensor to protect the sensor from foreignmaterials.

The cover may be a first cover, and the sensing device couplable to theinner wall of the slope portion and includes a second cover having aspace to the first cover for receiving the sensor and the filter.

The sensing device may include a printed circuit board (PCB) wherein thesensor is mounted on the printed circuit board (PCB), wherein theprinted circuit board (PCB) is placed on the second cover to be receivedbetween the first cover and the second cover.

The first cover may include a first guide passing through the slopeportion and formed to extend to outside of the slope portion from thecover surface to guide a wire electrically connected to the PCB.

The second cover may include a second guide couplable to the firstguide, passing through the slope portion and formed to extend to outsideof the slope portion to guide the wire between the first guide and thesecond guide.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a clothes dryer mayinclude a cabinet, a drum arranged in the cabinet to receive clothes andhaving an air inlet formed in the back, a front cover arranged in frontof the drum in the cabinet and forming a flow path linked to theinterior of the drum, and a sensing device mounted in an upper portionof the front cover and including a sensor facing the flow path to sensehumidity in air discharged from the interior of the drum.

The air inlet may be formed on one side on a rear surface of the drum,and the sensing device may be arranged to match the air inlet in afront-back direction.

The front cover may include a cover part couple to the sensing deviceand formed to slopingly extend from back to front of the front cover toform the flow path.

The clothes dryer may further include an electrode sensor coupled to alower portion of the cover part to sense humidity of the objects in theinterior of the drum, and a controller configured to determine anoperation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed bythe electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a clothes dryer mayinclude a cabinet having an inlet formed on a front, a drum arranged inthe cabinet for allowing air to flow from back to front of the drum, afront cover arranged in front of the drum in the cabinet and forming aflow path to link the inlet and the interior of the drum, the frontcover slopingly arranged for the flow path to have smallercross-sections toward the front, and a sensing device mounted on thefront cover to sense humidity in air discharged from the front of thedrum, the sensing device including a sensor facing the flow path, acover surface arranged on an inner wall of the front cover to cover thesensor, a cover including a hole penetrating the cover surface for partof the sensor to be exposed to the flow path, and a filter locatedbetween the sensor and the cover surface to protect the sensor fromforeign materials.

The cover may be a first cover, and the sensing device may be coupled tothe inner wall of the front cover and may include a second cover forreceiving the sensor and the filter between the first cover and thesecond cover.

The sensing device may include a PCB on which the sensor is mounted andwhich is placed on the second cover to be received between the firstcover and the second cover.

The sensing device may further include a first guide passing through thefront cover from the cover surface of the first cover and extending tooutside of the front cover to guide a wire electrically connected to thePCB, and a second guide coupled to the first guide, passing through thefront cover from the second cover and extending to outside of the frontcover to guide the wire between the first guide and the second guide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspect, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a clothes dryer, according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the clothes dryer of FIG. 1viewed from a different angle.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating theclothes dryer of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a front view schematically illustrating the clothes dryer ofFIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the clothes dryer of FIG. 1 with acabinet omitted from the clothes dryer.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the clothes dryer of FIG. 2 with acabinet omitted from the clothes dryer.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a drum and a front cover ofthe clothes dryer of FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a front cover and a sensingdevice of the clothes dryer of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the front cover and thesensing device of FIG. 8 viewed from a different angle.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the sensing device of theclothes dryer of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the sensing device shown in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the sensing device of FIG. 10viewed from a different angle.

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of the sensing device shown in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 14 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer, according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments and features as described and illustrated in the disclosureare merely examples, and there may be various modifications replacingthe embodiments and drawings at the time of filing this application.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts orcomponents.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to limit the disclosure. It is tobe understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” includeplural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

The terms including ordinal numbers like “first” and “second” may beused to explain various components, but the components are not limitedby the terms. The terms are only for the purpose of distinguishing acomponent from another. Thus, a first element, component, region, layeror room discussed below could be termed a second element, component,region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of thedisclosure. Descriptions shall be understood as to include any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items when theitems are described by using the conjunctive term “˜ and/or ˜,” or thelike.

The terms “front”, “rear”, “left” and “right” as herein used are definedwith respect to the drawings, but the terms may not restrict the shapeand position of the respective components.

The disclosure may provide a clothes dryer including a sensor capable ofsensing humidity of clothes.

The disclosure may also provide a clothes dryer capable of increasingaccuracy in dryer operation time of the dryer required for drying bysensing humidity of clothes.

The disclosure may provide a clothes dryer including a sensor capable ofsensing humidity of clothes by sensing a humidity of an air dischargedfrom a drum.

The disclosure may provide a clothes dryer capable of properlycontrolling a drying time depending on a dried state of clothes.

The following description will be focused on a clothes dryer, but thedisclosure is not limited thereto and may be applied to a washer anddryer combined machine. Furthermore, a clothes dryer 1 according to anembodiment of the disclosure will be described as a vented dryer thatsucks in outside air, uses the air for drying and then discharges theair, but is not limited thereto and a condenser type dryer or acirculating dryer may also be used.

Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described in detail withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a clothes dryer, according toan embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a perspective viewillustrating the clothes dryer of FIG. 1 viewed from a different angle.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the clothes dryer according to anembodiment of the disclosure may include a main body 10. The main body10 may include a cabinet. The cabinet 11 may be formed in the shape ofsubstantially a rectangular solid. The cabinet 11 may include a topcover 11 a, a side and rear cover 11 b, and a front panel 13.

A display 15 and a turnable switch 16 of the dryer 1 may be arranged inan upper portion of the front panel 13. The turnable switch 16 may bearranged for the user to select a mode of the dryer 1 by grasping andturning the tunable switch 16. The display 15 may display e.g., anoperation state of the dryer 1.

An inlet 13 a (see FIG. 3 ) formed in substantially a circular shapewhen viewed from the front may be arranged at the front panel 13 of themain body 10, and the inlet 13 a may be opened or closed by a door 14turnably installed on the main body 10. A drum 40 (see FIG. 3 ) may berotatably installed in the main body 10. The drum 40 may receive objectsto be dried, e.g., clothes. The interior of the drum 40 is connected tothe inlet 13 a, through which the object to be dried may be thrown intothe drum 40 and taken out when dried, while the inlet 13 a is opened bythe door 14.

A suction port 23 for sucking in air for drying and an exhaust port 34for discharging air that has been used up for drying may be arranged onthe rear surface of the dryer 1, e.g., the rear cover 11 b of thecabinet. A suction port cover 231 may be arranged to be detached fromand attached to the suction port 23. When foreign materials are suckedinto the suction port 23, the interior may be cleaned after detachmentof the suction port cover 231.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating theclothes dryer of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the clothes dryer according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may include an air supply unit 20 and an air dischargeunit 30. The air supply unit 20 may include a condenser 21, a heater 22,the suction port 23, and an air inlet 24. The air supply unit 20 maybring air into the drum 40. For example, the air inlet 24 may be linkedto a rear opening 43. The air supply unit 20 may be located on theupstream side of an interior 41 of the drum. Furthermore, the air supplyunit 20 may be located on the upstream side of the rear opening 43 ofthe drum 40. The air discharge unit 30 may include an evaporator 31, ablower fan 32, an outlet 33, the exhaust port 34, and a filter 35. Theair discharge unit 30 may make the air that has passed the drum 40 andthe interior of a front cover 70 to be discharged out of the main body10. For example, the outlet 33 may be linked to the front opening 42.The air discharge unit 30 may be located on the downstream side of theinterior 41 of the drum 40 and the front opening 42. For example, theair discharge unit 30 may be arranged on the downstream side of a flowpath 71 formed in the front cover 70.

The clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the disclosure mayinclude the front cover 70. The front cover 70 may be arranged betweenthe front panel 13 and the drum 40 in the front-back direction. Thefront cover 70 may be coupled to internal components of the main body 10and/or the cabinet 11, and may guide rotation of the drum 40. The frontcover 70 may be a front duct 70 within which the flow path 71 is formed.

The clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the disclosure mayinclude a heat pump device. The heat pump device may include acompressor 51, the condenser 21, an expansion device 52, and theevaporator 31. A refrigerant may flow in the heat pump device.Accordingly, the refrigerant may circulate in a series of processesincluding compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation. Thecondenser 21 and the evaporator 31 may correspond to a heat exchangerfor exchanging heat with air.

The compressor 51 compresses a refrigerant gas into a high-temperatureand high-pressure state and discharges the refrigerant gas, and thedischarged refrigerant gas flows into the condenser 21. The condenser 21may condense the compressed refrigerant into a liquid state and radiateheat around through the condensation process. The expansion device 52expands the high-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerantcondensed by the condenser 21 to low-pressure liquid refrigerant. Theevaporator 31 evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansiondevice 52 and returns the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerantgas to the compressor 51. The evaporator 31 may take heat from thesurroundings through an evaporation process that changes a refrigerantliquid to a refrigerant gas.

Arrows shown in FIG. 3 indicate flows of air, and solid line arrows showflows of air supplied to the interior 41 of the drum through the airinlet 24. Air outside the main body 10 may be brought into the main body10 through the air suction port 23. The air brought into the main body10 may pass the condenser 21 and/or the heater 22 arranged to beadjacent to the air suction port 23. Accordingly, the outside air havingrelatively low temperature may be relatively heated while passing thecondenser 21 and/or the heater 22. That is, the cool and dry air outsidethe main body 10 turns into hot and dry air while passing the condenser21. The hot and dry air may contain a lot of steam.

This hot and dry air may be bought in through the rear opening 43 of thedrum 40 through the air suction port 23 to dry clothes 2. Air that hastaken moisture from the clothes 2 may contain lots of steam again. Theair inside the drum containing lots of stem may flow toward the airdischarge unit 30 from the front opening 42 of the drum 40.

Dotted arrows show flows of air discharged from the interior 41 of thedrum, and the hot and humid air discharged from the drum 40 may pass thefront cover 70 and the outlet 33 formed at the side of the front cover70 and then pass through the evaporator 31 arranged in the air dischargeunit 30. The air robbed of heat while passing the evaporator 31 may becooled down and may have less moisture. That is, the hot and humid airdischarged from the drum 40 may turn to cool and dry air while passingthe evaporator 31. The air that has become cool and dry after passingthe evaporator 31 is discharged out of the main body 10.

Suction and discharging of the air may be performed by the blower fan 32arranged in the air discharge unit 30. For example, the blower fan 32may blow the air inside the main body 10 so that the air passes theinterior 41 of the drum. The air discharged to the air discharge unit 30from the drum 40 may contain various foreign materials such as lintproduced in the drying process, which may be filtered out by the filter35 arranged at the entrance of the air discharge unit 30.

Condensate water may be produced in the process where the hot and humidair discharged from the drum 40 is cooled and dehydrated in theevaporator 31. The condensate water may fall down from the evaporator 31and be collected by a water collector bin 61.

An embodiment of the disclosure will now be described from a differentperspective.

The hot and dry air that has passed the condenser 21 may flow to theinterior 41 of the drum that receives the clothes 2 through the airinlet 24. Humidity and/or moisture of the air may increase while the airis passing the clothes 2. The air may pass a front portion of the drum40 and flow to the front cover 70 arranged in front of the drum 40. Inother words, the front cover 70 may be arranged on the downstream sideof the drum 40 from the point of air flow.

In this case, a sensing device 100 arranged in an upper portion of thefront cover 70 may sense humidity in air discharged from the drum 40.For example, as the sensing device 100 is arranged in the downstreamside of the drum 40, the sensing device 100 may sense temperature andrelative humidity of the air having passed the clothes 2 and thendischarged from the drum 40. Furthermore, the sensing device 100 may bearranged at a position matching the air inlet 24. For example, the airinlet 24 may be formed on the left side from the rear surface of thedrum 40, and the sensing device 100 may be coupled to an upper leftportion of the front cover 70 to match the air inlet 24 in thefront-back direction. For example, the drum 40 may be rotatedcounterclockwise when viewed from front to back of the drum 40, and thesensing device 100 may be arranged to lean to the right side when viewedfrom front to back of the drum 40. Accordingly, the air of the interior41 of the drum may not stagnate but flow to the sensing device 100through the clothes 2.

The clothes dryer may sense moisture or humidity of the clothes 2 bysensing humidity in air being discharged from the drum 40. In addition,the moisture or humidity of the clothes 2 may be sensed by an electrodesensor 180 arranged in a lower portion of the front cover 70. Forexample, when touching the object to be dried, the electrode sensor 180may sense moisture or humidity of the clothes.

A controller as will be described later may properly control anoperation time for the dryer 1 based on the moisture or humidity of anobject to be dried (e.g., the clothes 2) sensed by the sensing device100 or the electrode sensor 180.

FIG. 4 is a front view schematically illustrating the clothes dryer ofFIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , according to an embodiment of the disclosure, theclothes dryer may include the drum 40 rotatably arranged in the cabinet,the front panel 13 arranged in front of the drum 40 and having the inlet13a formed thereon, and a front cover 70 coupled to the sensing device100. The sensing device 100 may be coupled to an upper portion of thefront cover 70. For example, the sensing device 100 may be coupled to anupper left portion of the front cover 70.

The interior 41 of the drum may receive the clothes 2. The interior 41of the drum may also be referred to as a receiving chamber 41.

In an embodiment, the drum 40 of the clothes dryer 1 may be rotated inone direction. For example, the drum 40 may be rotated clockwise whenviewed from the front of the clothes dryer. In this case, the clothes 2,which are objects to be dried, may also be rotated clockwise, and therotating clothes 2 may fall to the bottom from an upper portion of theinterior 41 of the drum due to the gravity. For example, the clothes 2may fall to the bottom from about twelve o'clock direction. The sensingdevice 100 is coupled to the upper left portion of the front cover 70,so the sensing device 100 may be least affected by the clothes 2 thatare moving.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the clothes dryer of FIG. 1 with acabinet omitted from the clothes dryer. FIG. 6 is a perspective view ofthe clothes dryer of FIG. 2 with a cabinet omitted from the clothesdryer.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the clothes dryers according to anembodiment of the disclosure may include the drum 40, the front cover70, a rear cover 90 and a lighting device 80.

The interior space 41 of the drum 40 may receive the clothes 2. Thefront cover 70 may be arranged in front of the drum 40, and the rearcover 90 may be arranged behind the drum 40. The front cover 70 and therear cover 90 are described as separate components from the drum 40, butare not limited thereto. For example, the front cover 70 and the rearcover 90 may be integrated in the drum 40. For example, the rear cover90 may form the rear side of the drum 40. The rear cover 90 may be arear panel 90.

The air inlet 24 may be formed at the rear cover 90. For example, theair inlet 24 may be formed on the rear side of the drum 40. Air may bebrought into the interior 41 of the drum 40 through the air inlet 24.The air may flow toward the front of the drum 40 via the interior 41 ofthe drum. The air that has passed the interior 41 of the drum may flowto the front cover 70. The flow path 71 may be formed in the front cover70. The front cover 70 may also be referred to as a front duct 70. Forexample, a cover part 72 may form the flow path 71. The cover part 72may also be referred to as a duct part 72. The air discharged from thedrum 40 may flow into the flow path 71. In other words, the flow path 71may be arranged on the downstream side of the interior 41 of the drumfrom the point of air flows. The air flowing in the flow path 71 mayflow to the evaporator 31 through the outlet 33 arranged in a lowerportion of the cover part 72.

As the interior 41 of the drum receives the clothes 2, the air flowinginto the interior 41 of the drum may pass the clothes 2. The air mayabsorb moisture from the clothes 2 while passing the clothes 2, andthus, humidity in the air may increase. The sensing device 100 may bemounted on the cover part 72. The sensing device 100 may include thesensor 110. The sensor 110 may face the flow path 71 formed in the frontcover 70. Furthermore, the sensor 110 may face the interior of the coverpart 72 and/or the interior 41 of the drum. The air may flow to thefront cover 70 and thus pass the flow path 71. In other words, thesensor 110 of the sensing device 100 may face the flow path 71 and comeinto contact with the air in the flow path 71. The sensor 110 maycontact the air in the flow path 71 and sense temperature and/orhumidity of the air. However, how the sensor 110 senses humidity in airis not limited to the above example.

The lighting device 80 may illuminate the interior 41 of the drum and/orthe interior of the front cover 70. The sensing device 80 may be coupledto the front cover 70. For example, the lighting device 80 may becoupled to the cover part 72 at a position near the sensing device 100.Accordingly, like the sensing device 100, the lighting device 80 may beleast affected by the clothes. However, the position of the lightingdevice 80 is not limited to this example.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the clothes dryer may include an airinlet duct 24 a coupled to the rear side of the rear cover 90 to coverthe air inlet 24. The air inlet duct 24 a may be connected to the airsuction port 23. Furthermore, the clothes dryer may include an airsuction port cover 231 to cover an air suction port duct 23 a arrangedin a rear portion of the main body 10 to form the air suction port 23,and the air suction port 23.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a drum and a front cover ofthe clothes dryer of FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIG. 7 , the front cover 70 may include the flow path 71formed in the interior of the front cover 70 to connect the inlet 13 aof the front panel 13 to the interior 41 of the drum, the cover part 72forming the flow path 71, a panel part 73, and an insertion part 74inserted to the interior of the drum. The cover part 72 may guide airflowing in the flow path 71. The insertion part 74 may be inserted tothe interior 41 of the drum from the perimeter of the drum 40. The coverpart 72 may be coupled to outlet ducts 33 a and 33 b by which the outlet33 is formed.

The clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the disclosure mayinclude the sensing device 100 and the electrode sensor 180.

The sensing device 100 may be coupled to an upper portion of the coverpart 72 and the electrode sensor 180 may be coupled to a lower portionof the cover part 72. The sensing device 100 may be coupled to an innerwall 72 a of the cover part. The sensing device 100 may sense humidityin air that are passing the flow path 71 through clothes in the interior41 of the drum. Accordingly, the sensing device 100 may indirectly sensemoisture or humidity of the clothes 2. Although not shown, the electrodesensor 180 may sense humidity and/or moisture of the clothes 2 bycontacting the clothes 2. Accordingly, the clothes dryer according to anembodiment of the disclosure may sense humidity of the clothes 2 throughthe sensing device 100 and the electrode sensor 180.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a front cover and a sensingdevice of the clothes dryer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 9 is a perspective viewillustrating the front cover and the sensing device of FIG. 8 viewedfrom a different angle.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 , the clothes dryers according to anembodiment of the disclosure may include the front cover 70, thelighting device 80, and the sensing device 100.

The front cover 70 may form the flow path 71 that connects the inlet 13a formed at the front panel 13 to the interior 41 of the drum. The frontcover 70 may include the cover part 72 forming the flow path 71, thepanel part 73 arranged in the back of the cover part 72, the insertionpart 74 extending rearward from the panel part 73 and inserted to theinterior 41 of the drum, an air supply unit coupler 78 to be coupled tothe air supply unit 20, and a front panel receiver 79 receiving part ofthe front panel 13 forming the inlet 13 a. The flow path 71 may beformed in the cover part 72. The cover part 72 may also be referred toas a duct part 72. The flow path 71 may connect the front opening 42 ofthe drum 40 to the inlet 13 a of the cabinet 11. Furthermore, the flowpath 71 may guide the air discharged from the drum 40 to the outlet 33.The inner wall 72 a of the cover part may form the flow path 71.

The cover part 72 may be arranged between the front panel 13 and thefront of the drum 40 to form the flow path 71 that connects the frontopening 42 of the drum 40 to the inlet 13 a of the cabinet 11. The coverpart 72 may be arranged between the inlet 13 a and the front opening 42.For example, the cover part 72 may be formed from the insertion part 78to be inserted to the interior 41 of the drum from the front of the drum40 to be coupled to the drum 40 to the front panel receiver 79 to whichpart of the front panel 13 that forms the inlet 13 a is inserted.

The cover part 72 may be coupled to the lighting device 80, the sensingdevice 100, a sensor filter 120, the outlet ducts 23 a and 23 b, and theair supply unit 20. The lighting device 80 and the sensing device 100may be coupled to an upper portion of the cover part 72. For example,the lighting device 80 and the sensing device 100 may be coupled to anupper left portion of the cover part 72. The lighting device 80 and thesensing device 100 may be coupled to a first cover part 75. However, thecoupling positions of the lighting device 80 and the sensing device 100are not limited thereto.

An air outlet 77 may be formed in a lower portion of the cover part 72.The air outlet 77 may be formed by being opened in the lower portion ofthe cover part 72. The air outlet 77 may match the outlet 33. The air inthe flow path 71 may flow to the air discharge unit 30 through the airoutlet 77.

The air supply unit coupler 78 may protrude forward from the panel part73. The air supply unit coupler 78 may be arranged in a lower portion ofthe panel part 73. The air supply unit coupler 78 may have the form of ahook.

The cover part 72 may be slopingly arranged such that the flow path 71has smaller cross-sections toward the front. The cover part 72 may alsobe referred to as a slope portion 72. The cover part 72 may include thefirst cover part 75 and a second cover part 76. The first cover part 75may adjoin the drum 40, and the second cover part 76 may be arranged toadjoin the front panel 13. The sensing device 100 may be coupled to theinner wall 75 a of the first cover part. With this, a sensing surface111 of the sensor 110 may face the flow path 71. As the sensing surface111 faces the flow path 71 formed in the downstream side of the interior41 of the drum, the sensor 110 may sense humidity of the air in the flowpath 71. The coupling position of the sensing device 100 is not,however, limited thereto, and it is also possible for the sensing device100 to be coupled to an inner wall 76 a of the second cover part.

The front panel receiver 79 may receive part of the front panel 13 thatforms the inlet 13 a (see FIG. 3 ). The front panel receiver 79 may bearranged at one end of the front cover 70. For example, the front panelreceiver 79 may be formed at one end of the front cover 70 in directionX.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the sensing device of theclothes dryer of FIG. 5 . FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the sensingdevice shown in FIG. 10 . FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating thesensing device of FIG. 10 viewed from a different angle. FIG. 13 is anexploded view of the sensing device shown in FIG. 12 .

In FIGS. 10 to 13 , for explanation, upward, downward, left and rightsides are defined with respect to direction A that is assumed to be aforward direction. Shapes and positions of respective components arenot, however, limited by these terms. For example, the direction A maycorrespond to a direction toward the flow path 71 of the front cover 70.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 13 , the clothes dryer according to anembodiment of the disclosure may include the sensing device 100. Thesensing device 100 may include the sensor 110, the sensor filter 120, aprinted circuit board (PCB) 130, a wire 140, a first cover 150, a secondcover 160, and a connector 170.

The sensor 110 may sense temperature and/or humidity of the air passingthe flow path 71. The sensor 110 may include the sensing surface 111.The sensing surface 111 may face the flow path 71. For example, thesensing surface 111 may face the interior of the cover part 72. It isalso possible for the sensing surface 111 to be arranged to face theinterior 41 of the drum. The sensing surface 111 may face the flow path71 through a through hole at the first cover 150.

The sensor 110 may be covered by the sensor filter 120 arranged in thefront. The sensor 110 may be mounted on the PCB 130. Furthermore, thesensor 110 may be received between the first cover 150 and the secondcover 160.

The sensor filter 120 may be arranged in front of the sensor 110 tocover the sensor 110. The sensor filter 120 may protect the sensor 110from foreign materials in the main body 10. For example, the sensorfilter 120 may protect the sensor 110 and/or the sensing surface 111from dust in the interior 41 of the drum. The sensor filter 120 may beformed in a size and/or shape matching a through hole 151 a of the firstcover 150.

The sensor 110 may be mounted on the PCB 130, and may be connected tothe controller 200 in the main body 10 through the wire 140. The sensor110 may be electrically connected to the PCB 130. The sensor 110 may bemounted on a mounting surface of the PCB 130. The mounting surface 130 amay be the front surface. The PCB 130 may be connected on a side 130 bto the wire 140.

The PCB 130 may be received between the first cover 150 and the secondcover 160. The PCB 130 may be placed on the second cover 160 arranged inthe back. For example, the PCB 130 may be placed in placement parts 164a and 164 b.

The wire 140 may be electrically connected to the PCB 130. The wire 140may pass the hole 167 of the second cover 160 to be connected to theconnector 170. The connector 170 may be connected to the main body 10.Information about the air in the flow path 71 sensed by the sensor 110may be sent to the controller 200 through the wire 140 and the connector170.

The first cover 150 may include a cover surface 151, the through hole151 a, a first guide 152, a first coupling projection 152 a, a joint153, and a second coupling projection 154.

The cover surface 151 may cover the sensor 110 received between thefirst cover 150 and the second cover 160 from the interior of the frontcover 70. Referring to FIG. 9 , the cover surface 151 may be arranged onthe inner wall 72 a of the cover part 72. The cover surface 151 may bearranged farther inside the cover part 72 than the sensor 110. The coversurface 151 may extend in direction B.

The through hole 151 a may be formed at the cover surface 151. Thethrough hole 151 a may be formed on one side of the cover surface 151.The through hole 151 a may be formed at a position matching the sensor110. For example, the through hole 151 a may be formed at the coversurface 151 to match arrangement of the sensing surface 111 and/or thesensor filter 120. The through hole 151 a may be arranged with thesensing surface 111 and the sensor filter 120 in direction A. Thethrough hole 151 a may allow the sensing surface 111 and/or the sensorfilter 120 to be exposed to the interior of the cover part 72. Thethrough hole 151 a may make the air in the flow path 71 reach thesensing surface 111.

The first guide 152 may guide the wire 140 such that the wire 140extends to the outside of the front cover 70. The first guide 152 maypenetrate the cover part 72. The first guide 152 may extend to direction−A from the cover surface 151. The first guide 152 may penetrate and beinserted to the second guide 162 of the second cover 160. For example,the second guide 162 may form the hole 167, and the first guide 152 maybe inserted to the hole 167 of the second cover 160.

The first coupling projection 152 a may make the first cover 150 coupledto the second cover 160. The first coupling projection 152 a may becoupled to a first coupling hole 166 a formed at the second guide 162.The first coupling projection 152 a of the first cover 150 may be formedat an end of the first guide 152. For example, the first couplingprojection 152 a may protrude to direction C and/or direction −C from anend of the first guide 152 in direction −A. The first couplingprojection 152 a may be provided in the plural. The first couplingprojection 152 a may be inserted to the first coupling hole 166 a formedat the second guide 162.

A joint 153 may make the first cover 150 and the second cover 160fastened to each other by a screw (not shown). Furthermore, the joint153 may make the sensing device 100 screw-coupled to the cover part 72.The joint 153 may include a hole. The joint 153 of the first cover 150may be formed at a position and in the number matching a joint 163 ofthe second cover 160. The joint 153 may be formed on the rear side ofthe cover surface 151. The joint 153 may be provided in the plural.However, the position, the number, and the shape of the joint 153 arenot limited to the above example.

The second coupling projection 154 may make the first cover 150 coupledto the second cover 160. The second coupling projection 154 may protruderearward from the cover surface 151 and be inserted to a second couplinghole 166 b. The second coupling projection 154 may be arranged on oneside of direction −B, and the first guide 152 and the first couplingprojection 152 a may be arranged on one side of direction B.

The second cover 160 may be coupled to the first cover 150. The secondcover 160 may include a cover surface 161, the second guide 162, thejoint 163, a placement part, a fixing part, and a coupling hole.

The cover surface 161 of the second cover 160 may be placed on an innerside of edges 150 a of the first cover 150. The cover surface 161 maymake the sensor 110 received between the first cover 150 and the secondcover 160. The cover surface 161 of the second cover 160 may cover thePCB 130 from direction −A. The cover surface 161 of the second cover 160may be formed in a size and shape matching the cover surface 151 of thefirst cover 150.

The second guide 162 may guide the wire 140 such that the wire 140extends to the outside of the front cover 70. The second guide 162 maypenetrate the cover part 72. The second guide 162 may extend todirection −A from the cover surface 161. The second guide 162 may formthe hole 167 to which the first guide 152 and the wire 140 are inserted.

The joint 163 may make the first cover 150 and the second cover 160fastened to each other by the screw. Furthermore, the joint 163 may makethe sensing device 100 screw-coupled to the cover part 72. The joint 163may include a hole. The joint 163 of the second cover 160 may be formedat a position and in the number matching the joint 153 of the firstcover 150.

The placement parts 164 a and 164 b may allow the PCB 130 to be placedon the cover surface 161 of the second cover 160. The placement parts164 a and 164 b may include first and second placement parts 164 a and164 b. The first placement part 164 a may make both ends of the PCB 130settled in direction B. The first placement part 164 a may be formed tocorrespond to the shape of the PCB 130. The second placement part 164 bmay prevent the PCB 130 that is placed in the first placement part 164 afrom getting out of the first placement part 164 a to direction B. Thesecond placement part 164 b may protrude to direction A from the coversurface 161 of the second cover 160. The second placement part 164 b maybe arranged between the first placement part 164 a and the hole 167.

The fixing part 165 may minimize swaying of the sensing device 100 whilethe sensing device 100 is coupled to the cover part 72. The fixing part165 may contact the outer surface of the cover part 72. For example, thefixing part 165, the inner wall 72 a of the cover part, and the edges150 a of the first cover 160 may be sequentially arranged toward theinside of the cover part 72. The fixing part 165 may be formed at thesecond guide 162. For example, the fixing part 165 may protrude todirection B and/or direction −B from the circumference of the secondguide 162.

The coupling holes 166 a and 166 b may make the first cover 150 coupledto the second cover 160. The coupling holes 166 a and 166 b may becoupled to the first coupling projection 152 a of the first cover 150and the second coupling projection 154. For example, the first couplingprojection 152 a of the first cover 150 may be inserted to the firstcoupling hole 166 a, and the second coupling projection 154 of thesecond cover 160 may be inserted to the second coupling hole 166 b. Thefirst coupling hole 166 a may be formed in direction C of the secondguide 162. The second coupling projection 154 may be provided in theplural. The first coupling hole 166 a may be formed on one side of thecover surface 161 in direction B and the second coupling hole 166 b maybe formed on one side of the cover surface 161 in direction −B.

The connector 170 may be electrically connected to the PCB 130 throughthe wire 140. The connector 170 may be electrically connected to thecontroller 200 provided in the main body 10.

FIG. 14 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer, according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14 , the clothes dryer according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may include the controller 200. The sensing device 100 orthe electrode sensor 180 may sense humidity of the clothes 2 and sendinformation about the humidity to the controller 200. For example, thesensing device 100 may sense temperature and relative humidity in airand send the information to the controller 200. The controller 200 maychange the information received from the sensing device 100 to anabsolute humidity value. The controller 200 may estimate humidity and/ormoisture of the clothes 2 based on the absolute humidity value andcontrol an operation time for the clothes dryer. For example, thecontroller 200 may reduce the operation time for clothes dryer when lesstime than a preset time is enough to make the clothes 2 reach a targetdry level, and may operate the clothes dryer for a longer time when moretime than the preset time is required.

The disclosure may provide a clothes dryer including a sensor forsensing humidity of clothes by sensing humidity in air discharged fromthe drum 40.

Several embodiments of the disclosure have been described above, but aperson of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate thatvarious modifications can be made without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure. Thus, it will be apparent to those or ordinary skill inthe art that the true scope of technical protection is only defined bythe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clothes dryer comprising: a cabinet including afront panel having an inlet through which objects are placed; a drumrotatably arranged in the cabinet and having a front opening and a rearopening, the drum configured to have air flow along an interior of thedrum from the rear opening to the front opening; a front cover formed tolink the inlet of the cabinet and the front opening of the drum, thefront cover including a slope portion formed to have a diameterdecreasing toward the inlet of the cabinet from the front opening of thedrum; a rear cover formed to connect to the rear opening of the drum andhaving an air inlet formed at the rear cover to guide the air to flowtoward the rear opening of the drum from an exterior of the drum; and asensing device arranged on the slope portion for sensing humidity in airdischarged from the front opening of the drum.
 2. The clothes dryer ofclaim 1, further comprising: a fan configured to move the air into thedrum; a heat exchanger arranged in the cabinet to cool the airdischarged from the front opening of the drum; and an air outlet formedin a lower portion of the front cover so that the air discharged fromthe front opening of the drum flows to the heat exchanger, wherein thesensing device is arranged in an upper portion of the front cover. 3.The clothes dryer of claim 2, wherein the drum is rotatedcounterclockwise while the drum is viewed from front to back of thedrum, and wherein the sensing device is arranged to lean to a right sidewhen the drum is viewed from front to back of the drum.
 4. The clothesdryer of claim 3, further comprising: a lighting device adjacent to thesensing device.
 5. The clothes dryer of claim 4, further comprising: anelectrode sensor coupled to a lower portion of the slope portion tosense humidity of the objects in the interior of the drum; and acontroller configured to determine an operation time for the clothesdryer based on one of humidity sensed by the electrode sensor orhumidity sensed by the sensing device.
 6. The clothes dryer of claim 1,wherein the sensing device includes a sensor including a sensing surfacefacing inside of the slope portion; and a cover coupled to an inner wallof the slope portion to cover the sensor.
 7. The clothes dryer of claim6, wherein the cover includes a cover surface arranged on the inner wallof the slope portion; and a through hole penetrating the cover surfacefor the sensing surface to be exposed to the inside of the slopeportion.
 8. The clothes dryer of claim 7, wherein the sensing devicefurther includes a filter arranged between the cover surface and thesensor to protect the sensor from foreign materials.
 9. The clothesdryer of claim 8, wherein the cover is a first cover, and wherein thesensing device is couplable to the inner wall of the slope portion andincludes a second cover receiving the sensor and the filter between thefirst cover and the second cover.
 10. The clothes dryer of claim 9,wherein the sensing device includes a printed circuit board (PCB),wherein the sensor is mounted on the printed circuit board (PCB),wherein the PCB is placed on the second cover to be received between thefirst cover and the second cover.
 11. The clothes dryer of claim 10,wherein the first cover includes a first guide passing through the slopeportion and formed to extend to outside of the slope portion from thecover surface to guide a wire electrically connected to the PCB.
 12. Theclothes dryer of claim 11, wherein the second cover includes a secondguide couplable to the first guide and passing through the slope portionand formed to extend to outside of the slope portion to guide the wirebetween the first guide and the second guide.
 13. The clothes dryer ofclaim 1, wherein the front cover is arranged in front of the drum in thecabinet and forms a flow path connected to an interior of the drum, andwherein the sensing device includes a sensor facing the flow path, andis arranged to match the air inlet along a front-back direction.
 14. Theclothes dryer of claim 13, wherein the front cover includes a cover partcouplable to the sensing device and formed to slopingly extend from backto front of the front cover to form the flow path.
 15. The clothes dryerof claim 14, further comprising: an electrode sensor coupled to a lowerportion of the cover part to sense humidity of the objects in theinterior of the drum, and a controller configured to determine anoperation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed bythe electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device.